Wild Horses Couldn't Drag Me Away
by Willow-Whisp
Summary: **Update: Chapter 3 added!** Max and his sister, Steph, embark on a journey to Mongolia to find a Lemurian Artifact before Skull Master, which could triple his power. They stumble into a secluded valley filled with white horses and who knows what else.
1. Default Chapter

Hey guys! This is my first crack at fanfics, so I figured I'd start with a story I originally thought of in '95. The work is still in progress, so you can expect changes in the chapters throughout the process (even my character's name is still tentative.) I would welcome all feedback, and I will have art of the charaters on my site (www.flyingclam.com) soon!  
  
Here's where our story begins: This tale takes place a few months after the "Maxnificent Seven" incident. Max, who is 12 in this story, has been joined in all of his adventures by his older sister, Stephanie, who is 16. The Key which would normally have just been Max's cap had, oddly enough, split into two halves. Virgil is still unclear as to why the Key has done so, but is certain that it is destiny that the key should now require two owners. (The author will elaborate on the subject as soon as it is revealed to her...!) Max still has his cap and Steph's Key took the form of a thick silver ring, emblazoned with her her initial on it. She finds it too heavy to wear on her hand and instead wears it as a pendant. Virgil refers to as the symbols on Max's cap and Steph's ring as "Crests", and she and Max are known as "Crest Bearers" as well as "Mighty Ones". Portals will not operate unless she and Max are within close proximinty of eachother.  
  
A note about the new character:  
  
Steph is Max's 16 year old sister. She's light brunette with golden brown eyes (picture coming soon), taking after she and Max's father, who is deceased. She's usually pretty annoyed by Max and wouldn't usually hang around with him, except that she is bound by duty (or destiny) now. Steph also had to do a lot of the child rearing with Max on account of their mother being away from home so much, so of course she is protective of the little squirt. She tries to be the level headed one and often feels like she's the only sane person in the group, putting on an aire of maturity which is beyond her years. Steph tends to get panicked more than other members of the group, because she lays so much responsibility on herself.  
  
Tentative Title: Wild Horses Couldn't Drag Me Away  
  
Sunlight pushed through the leaves of the old eucalyptis tree, leaving a pleasant dappled pattern of light on Steph's legs. With her arms folded behind her head and a few wisps of long brown hair waving above her head, she gnawed anxiously on a slender twig, which she found tasted oddly like rootbeer. Her mind had been on her riding lesson this morning. Steph was finally able to tryout for the steeple chase this year, and had been training for weeks with Blaze, a sturdy and nimble palomino. She replayed the experience of riding Blaze in her mind; galloping was always so euphoric for Steph; the rhythm of the animal beneath her strong legs, the pulses of wind in her face. She had a gut feeling about this year. This was there year she'd make her Mom proud and take home -  
  
"BANZAI!!!!"  
  
Steph curled into a "U" shape as the waterballoon, filled with ice cold water, broke into the middle of her stomach. She gasped and whipped her head around, to see her brother Max and his shaggy-headed friend Felix, who held an orange balloon over his head akwardly, crammed into the second- story bathroom window. Max hefted a bright blue balloon in his left hand as Felix pushed ahead to make room, cackling with delight.  
  
"You freaks! You're so dead!" Steph hissed and she scrambled to her feet and nearly pulled the screen door off of its hinges. She rounded the stairs, following the sounds of sneakers on the carpet to Max's room. As she caught sight of his door, which was laden with posters of bio-hazard symbols and various "keep-out" signs, she saw the two boys pushing eachother through the doorway. Felix was the first to hit the carpet, with Steph kneeling on his back and an orange waterballoon bursting underneath his chest. Max had writhed free of the doorway and was standing against the wall on his bed, the blue water balloon remarkably still intact.  
  
"Whatsa matter big sis?" he taunted, a mishievous smile plastered on his face. "I'm no expert, but you're prolly not going to get much of a tan by laying in the shade all day. Not that anyone would wanna see you -"  
  
"Heeeyyaah!"  
  
Steph launched herself from Felix's whining body and darted straight for Max, missing him by a foot as he hopped down from the bed. Steph pushed herself from the wall, teeth clenched, and flung herself onto her brother, who rarely saw his sister so angry. She wrapped an arm around his neck and siezed his wrist, ensuring that blue balloon was going nowhere.  
  
"H-hey! C'mon big sis, we're just playing... OW!" Max laughed, his smile soon fading.  
  
Steph gave his wrist an Indian Sunburn he'd not soon forget.  
  
"I'm not in the mood for your stupidity today, squirt! And if you and your cro-magnon friend ever try anything like that again, you'll be pulling waterballoons out of parts of your bodies you never knew existed!"  
  
Max shifted his weight suddenly, pulling him and his sister towards the open window. Both were so involved in this wrestling match that they misjudged how close they were to the window sill.  
  
"Whoa, dudes! The window!" called Felix, getting to his knees.  
  
With a short cry the entwined pair tumbled out of the window. All Steph saw was sky, then, a whirling black void, streaked with ribbons of red and gold light.  
  
* * * * * 


	2. Destiny calls again

The wind escaped Steph's lungs as her back hit the hard, clay-covered earth. The splash of the broken waterballoon and the thud of another body caught her attention. She rolled her head to the side to see a slightly out of focus Max, kneeling a short distance from her with his hand underneath his red cap (which was glowing slightly). The ring, which Steph wore as a pendant, felt warm in the hollow of her neck, which was her final clue as to what had happened.  
  
"Don't they usually warn us first, Max? Geez..." groaned Steph, sitting up. As a sky, yellowed by the rising sun, came into focus, a dark form approached her. She caught the familiar scent of leather, dirt and perspiration. "Ah, hey Norman," coughed Steph. "What gives, big guy?"  
  
"My sincerest apologies, Mighty Ones!" replied a nasal voice from behind Norman, who was stone-faced as ever. The owner of that voice, Virgil, approached Max and continued. "Although I might add that had the portal not appeared in time, you both would have been in a much worse state than you are now." Norman extended a hand the size of a dinner plate to Steph, his sage eyes dull and cold, as they had been as of late. Steph took his hand and was firmly pulled to her feet, though staring at her dusty green converse sneakers.  
  
"There's never enough time with you, Virge!" protested Max, getting to his feet with far more vigor than his sister. "You're always running around like a chick-"  
  
"Fowl, actually" Virgil interjected, clearly having less tolerance for Max's antics than usual. "Please Mighty Ones, I need your fullest attention. We are currently in Mongolia, more specifically, the Gobi Desert. I have discovered that there is a Lemurian artifact in this area which could double - or even triple - the power of Skullmaster's Crystal of Souls. We have to find this artifact first and use the powers of the Crests to seal its properties."  
  
"How's that work? I thought these things were just used for portals and travelling. And what's with the camping gear, big guy?" inquired Max, who had just noticed the small back pack Norman was carrying, bulging with dingy rolled-up blankets.  
  
"We Lemurians were a race who's history was rich with magic," replied Virgil, dodging Max's second inquiry. "Magic is certainly not a black-and- white art; there are many grey areas and everything is connected..."  
  
Steph found her gaze travelling up to Norman, who stood beside her, his eyes fixed on the agitated fowl. His chiselled arms were crossed in front of his broad chest, his brow pulled downward and his lips curled into his usual growl. Steph knew that Norman really only had two moods: blind rage and, well, anticipation of said rage. She could never recall a time that he had actually smiled, and after having to live 10,000 years after witnessing your father's death, fighting endless battles to keep a couple of smart-mouthed kids intact, who could blame the big guy?  
  
The closest she had come to seeing even a less hardened side of him was when he was reunited with Mujaji, a strong and beautiful African warrior woman. One hardly had to guess that the two of them had been more than friends; Norman may have taught his lips how not to smile, but his eyes never lied. Steph never saw his eyes glow as they had when he was in the company of Mujaji, and after performing her noble sacrifice a few months ago, Norman seemed only to live for the adrenaline rush of battle, his drug to keep him free of despair. Before the encounter with Mujaji, Steph was able to joke with Norman, even tease the big brute, especially when he made that comment about having big feet. There were even times when he would spar with she and Max, each of the trio weilding long sticks. He never let them win, but he would always yield to her and Max (otherwise he'd have killed the two he was destined to protect, of course). Now Norman's eyes were as dull as the stone slab on which he slept. If being a warrior woman is what it took to get through to that man, then Steph was certain she was not willing to play the part.  
  
"Er-hem!" crowed Virgil, his saucer-sized eyes locked onto Steph. She looked up quickly to see Max's snickering face and Norman's cold eyes also upon her.  
  
"Ah, yeah Virgil, I got it." Steph stuttered. "We gotta get that thing before Skullmaster does and.. we... uhm..."  
  
"As I was saying" moaned Virgil, followed by a sigh of exasperation. "I believe if we expose the artifact we're looking for to the magic of the Crests, it will act as a locking device, allowing only the Crest bearers to release its potency. Of course, this locking would only last, say, a few hundred centuries, and would have to be re-applied every-"  
  
"Hold it, Virgil." replied Steph, hoping to win some points back by asking questions. "What if Skull Master gets the Crests and wants to use that thing?" She picked some bits of the desert scrub from her golden brown hair, to appear more casual.  
  
Virgil looked up at her grimly with his glossy, yellow eyes. "Mighty One, if Skull Master ever obtains the crests, we will have far more to worry about than this one artifact."  
  
The group was silent for a moment before Norman unsheathed his sword. "Let's roll."  
  
* * * * * 


	3. Sea of Green

Howling winds threw sand and pebbles into the faces of our heroes as the sun rose higher in the pale blue sky. The temperature had reached its peak of fifty degrees, which Virgil explained was rather balmy for this time of year. This didn't bother Steph of Max as much so long as they kept moving. Norman took care to walk in front of the trio, his arms slightly spread to help shield the dusty projectiles. This was a light dust storm though, and a mile ahead an eruption of jagged mountain peaks, painted with white snowcaps could be seen.  
  
"So Virge!" yelled Max, competing with the noisy winds. "Any idea where this Lemurian thing-a-ma-bob is? Or are we just gonna have to wander thousands of miles until destiny kicks in?"  
  
"I cannot change the locations of the portals, Mighty One!" replied the fowl, struggling with the map. "The Gobi covers thousands of miles and to my knowledge there are only three portals which lead here! But do not despair, the artifact appears to be just through that mountain pass."  
  
It had just occured to Max why Norman had his camping gear with him; Virgil obviously knew this would be a long hike. He turned to yell at the flustered fowl, but with a tear barely audible over the whistling sirocco, the map ripped free of Virgil's hands and writhed into the air.  
  
"No! Do not let that map get away!" cried Virgil. "Without it I cannot discern the location of the artifact and I cannot allow humans to read it!"  
  
Norman turned quickly and with a loud grunt leapt after the twisting piece of paper, but his splayed hands grabbed only a handful of dust as it had already been carried well out of his reach. He roared and took off after the map, much to Steph's disapproval, but slowed before the tiny airborne speck fluttered out of sight. Steph, her back to the winds, held the back of Virgil's robes with one hand and Max's white T-shirt with the other as Norman returned, growling and coughing up mouthfuls of dust.  
  
"Well... what's plan B?" asked Steph after a moment of silence. She released Max and Virgil once Norman returned to his place behind her. Virgil opened his mouth wordlessly, before replying, "Through those mountains ahead is a narrow pass. We'll just have to use our instincts, I suppose..."  
  
The climb between the mountains wasn't nearly as bad on the lungs as the trek in the desert, although it proved to be far more perilous. It was far more cold between the peaks, even though they were relatively low to the ground, and Norman had to cut up his blanket to make cloaks for Max and Steph. An uneven but clearly defined path had been cut along the sides of the mountains, which might have been used my merchants, but was now in a state of disrepair. Everyone had to walk in a single file, this time Norman bringing up the rear to catch anyone if they slipped. Virgil sat on Norman's shoulders, his face long and worn over the loss of the map.  
  
Bracing herself on the rockface to catch her breath, Steph could make out, much to her surprise, an enormous green valley up ahead, flooded with a cloud of ivory white specks. To the right, a deep and wide fissure in the valley, which seemed to fork in two directions; to the left, a dead end, to the right, it spanned across the valley, narrowed and led out the opposite side of the mountain range. "Hey, Virgil!" she yelled, her eyes widening. "Check it out! That artifact must be here, or how else could anything live in a place like this without magic of some kind?"  
  
Max joined his sister and whistled in astonishment. "Yeah, we're right on it, I can feel it! But what are all those white lint balls down there? Sheep or something?"  
  
Norman squinted and sniffed the cleaner air. "Horses," he replied, readjusting Virgil on his shoulders.  
  
"Horses?!" choked Steph. "There has to be almost... a hundred thousand of them! Horses don't live in herds that big! They can't! And besides, they're all white; there'd be massive inbreeding and -"  
  
"I said horses." said Norman dryly. "Come on. If we don't find shelter soon it won't matter whether they're kittens or crocodiles. There are bears in these ranges, and it's almost dark. You do the math."  
  
He gently nudged the two kids forward, who stumbled a little and made their ways down the path. Max mouthed "What's his problem?" to Steph, who only shrugged. She'd explain to Max later about Mujaji, she guessed. So, Max bantered on about the artifact and kicking the crap out of Skullmaster, but Steph kept her gaze dreamily forward.  
  
They reached the edge of the valley while the moon was still low in the sky, and they set up camp in a rock alcove. Norman managed to find some desert scrub on the outskirts to use as kindling, and a small fire was lit. Max, Steph and Norman gnawed on leathery strips of jerky (Steph knew better than to ask Norman which animal this particular batch had been made from) while Virgil attempted to re-draw a map on a piece of parchment with a charcoal stick.  
  
"You should rest, Mighty Ones." stated Norman, wiping his mouth on the back of his gauntlet. "I'll keep watch during the night. I expect we'll have a lot more walking ahead of us tomorrow." In addition to their makeshift cloaks, Steph and Max each pulled a smaller blanket on top of themselves and said nothing for some time. Soon, Virgil had made a nest, if you will, to roost for the night and Max's nasal snoring could be heard over the popping of the dying fire. Norman sat near the mouth of the alcove, his back to the three tired travellers, and stared at the clouds of stars which streaked across the sky.  
  
Norman hadn't slept much since Mujaji's passing. By this time he had long anticipated "the" dream, the one where he could see her, running through a winding tunnel lined with searing flames. She was hurt, terrified... why didn't she slow down so he could help her? No matter how much he called to her, she never slowed. The closer he came to his beloved, the heavier his legs would feel, until he could not lift them from the floor which cooked them. The last image he always saw before waking up was her turning, and with eyes wide with terror and anger, screaming, "Stay away!!". Then, the flames would curl from the walls of the tunnel, envelop her lean and wounded body, and pull her into its scorching depths. Why.. why would she not let him protect her?  
  
His heart betrayed by his body, the exhausted warrior eventually nodded off. His head and shoulder rested against the side of the alcove, his cavernous chest steadily rising and falling. Steph looked at Norman, silent and worn, and she rolled onto her back. Her body was wailing inside for her to go to sleep, but the faint whickering and snorts of the horses in the darkened sea of mist kept her quite awake.  
  
'Horses. Norman was right, and this is something amazing! There's gotta be a reason no one's poached or touched those things for all these years. And they're white... could they all be albino? We'll see in the morning... or maybe, if I could get a closer look...' 


	4. The Valley's Trust and Betrayal

The ring which hung at Steph's collarbone began to flicker pale purple; the Crests had a homing mechanism in which they would begin to glow if they were a good distance apart. This would ensure that the Mighty Ones could locate one another if they were ever separated, as the Crests would glow brighter as they became more distant from eachother. They wouldn't stop flashing until the Crests were touched against eachother. In Steph's case, however, this was a nuisance because the pulsing light was sure to spook the horses and the moonlight was just bright enough for Steph to make her way through the misty valley, so she tucked the ring into her dusty Sunnyvale High School T-shirt.  
  
'I'm getting close,' thought Steph, stepping lightly through the damp grass, which was getting increasingly shorter as the whinnies and snorts grew louder. She lost her breath as the herd at last came within view, only a hundred or so feet from her. She clutched her ring through her shirt, partly to dim the flicker, which was now flashing like a strobe and partly because she had never been more afraid of anything in her entire life.  
  
Their snowy pelts were soaked with dew and reflected blue moonlight. The creatures were almost indistinguishable from one another, a mass of shimmering ice blues and lavenders as far as her eyes could see. They moved as individuals and in unison; each creature it's own spirit but part of something far greater than anything one being could have created. Steph almost expected the see ivory horns spiralling from their foreheads but was not the slightest disappointed when she saw only wisps of hair. She stood with her jaw dropped and golden brown eyes widened as the herd parted and a single horse galloped in her direction.  
  
Steph knew immediately that this was the alpha male. He was a massive and sturdy creature, untamed mane waving behind him like a writhing specter as he tossed his head aggressively. His ivory hooves hammered the chewed loam, each hoof barely visible through a cascade of ice cobalt hair. He snorted and reared twenty feet from where she stood while the herd fell back and watched, their ears pricked and nostrils flared.  
  
Steph wanted to run, but the adrenaline had paralyzed her legs. 'He's going to charge me,' she thought, a trickle of sweat falling down her forehead. He paced before her, clouds of steam bursting from his flared nostrils as she tried to remember when her riding coach, Michelle, had attempted to break a wild stallion; they key to building an animal's trust is to respect their distance. Make them want to come to you. If they bolt, it was never meant to be.  
  
Slowly and softly, Steph drew one step backwards, never letting her eyes leave the stallion's. His body was young and nimble, sinuous and powerful, but his eyes, like Norman's, were heavy with shadows and appeared to be the eyes of an ancient animal. The stallion tossed his head one more time, before slowing his pace and lifting his velvet ears from the back of his skull. He stood, whickering before her, the night breeze lifting his tail like a nimbus cloud. Instinctively, Steph drew another step backward, and the stallion followed with another firm step forward.  
  
'If I died right now...' thought Steph, ' Not even unicorns could have this power over a human.' At this, Steph paused, and took one step forward and the stallion tensed his leg muscles and snorted, as though he may charge, but instead took another tentative step forward. They exhaled in unison and Steph slowly walked toward the beast.  
  
As she was about to extend her hand, the stallion pricked it's ears and whinnied, a thunderous cry from deep within its barrelled chest. He reared and charged at Steph, who could only let out a short shriek before a broad hand curled around her mouth and a second pulled her down by her waist.  
  
* * * * *  
  
The crest on Max's cap was flashing brightly as he was awakened by his sister's cry from across the valley. "STEPH!" he screamed, kicking off his blanket and looking immediately for her. His gaze darted from her empty, dissheveled bed to the open mouth of the alcove, where Norman's figure was not present. "Normie?!" Where are you guys? What the heck is going on here?" He dived over to Virgil's roost and shook the fowl, who lifted his head from behind his arm and crowed.  
  
"Calm yourself, Mighty One! What is the meaning of this? ...Norman? ....MIGHTY ONE!"  
  
Max twisted around to face the valley and yelled out to his sister and Norman. His cry ricocheted against the mountain peaks and was returned only by the sounds of distant hoofbeats and whinnies. Max siezed Virgil by the hand (wing?) and slid down the embankment of the alcove, into the valley. Virgil tried desperately to keep pace, but fell back.  
  
"You must find her, Mighty One! Hurry!" he wheezed, still running as fast as his fowl legs could take him.  
  
"Yeah Virge, way to state the obvious yet again!" yelled Max over his shoulder, his azure eyes scanning the horizon for Steph's beacon. "Steph! Norman! Can you hear me? Geez guys, why'd you have to go and make this trip harder than it already was?!"  
  
* * * * *  
  
Steph wrested her face from her attacker's palm and immediately recognized the leathery scent.  
  
"Norm-"  
  
"Stay back, Mighty One!" the barbarian ordered, pushing her behind his hulking form as he drew his sword. The stallion circled wide and reared, roaring fiercely at Norman and readying itself to charge once more. Norman felt the heat of the moment coursing through his veins, the surge of energy and passion right before a battle. He gripped the hilt until his knuckles turned white and licked his lips, his old sneer returning to his face. "Bring it, Sea Biscuit."  
  
The first arrow sailed from the darkness, inches from the stallion's neck and hit Norman in the left shoulder. The second arrow just missed Steph's stomach and ripped a hole through the side of her shirt. The barbarian roared and looked in the direction that the first arrow came from; the stallion had veered from its path and was thundering back towards the herd, which was already fleeing the area.  
  
"Norman!!!" cried Steph, covering her mouth with her hands. Norman snapped the shaft of the arrow in half so it wouldn't be so cumbersome and hastily picked Steph up by the waist with his good arm. He raised his great sword and roared.  
  
"Get outta the shadows and fight, cowards!" growled Norman, embarrassed and enraged at the sneak attack.  
  
Another arrow whizzed past his ear from the darkness, and a fourth embedded itself into the barbarian's forearm, which held Steph against his body. "Shit, they surrounded us!" muttered Norman, hastily sheathing his sword and dashing back towards camp.  
  
The valley flew past Steph in a blur, but she could just make out another arrow sailing at them from the right. Before she could react, the projectile sank deep into Norman's muscular thigh, and with a grunt of pain he fell against the earth. Steph spilled from his grip and rolled a few times, only hearing Norman's yells as two more arrows secured his hands to the earth.  
  
Three Mongoloid men on brown horses emerged from the shadows and gathered before Norman's form. They drew their bows and aimed at Norman's exposed neck.  
  
"STOP IT!!" Steph hoarsely cried, stumbling to the three riders. The smaller rider, with a movement Steph could hardly detect, aimed his bow at her throat. His eyes, the only part of his face not concealed by fur and felt wrappings, darted down to the light which was radiating from her collarbone. Her ring flashed wildly as it freed itself from underneath her T-shirt. The young warrior's eyes widened, motioned to his fellow riders and shouted something in a foreign tongue. The riders circled Steph, who was barely able to stand with exhaustion, and exchanged more words in low voices.  
  
Steph only felt the pain for an instant as she was struck and fell heavily to the damp earth. 


End file.
